Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 24.6%, owning 47,500 shares worth approximately $729,000 after selling 15,500 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Applied Optoelectronics, with Raymond James Financial raising their target price from $18.00 to $25.00 and Needham & Company issuing a "buy" rating with a price objective of $32.00.
• The company reported a quarterly revenue of $102.95 million, missing estimates of $104.96 million, and posted an EPS of ($0.16), which was lower than the consensus estimate of ($0.08).

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 15,500 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.09% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.2% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 21,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,471 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,333 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAOI. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Northland Securities set a $30.00 target price on Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.20. 3,695,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,597,275. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -7.20 and a beta of 2.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.93. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.13 and a 12 month high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.08). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 42.29%.The company had revenue of $102.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.28) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 137.9% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2025 guidance at -0.100--0.030 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William H. Yeh purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.40 per share, with a total value of $85,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 253,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,726.60. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $358,296.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 256,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,818,600.20. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 44,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,000,878 and have sold 32,784 shares valued at $741,217. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.